Long-term heat storage opportunities of renewable energy for district heating networks

Abstract

This study compares different thermal heat storage solutions existing in the market, fuelled with energy from different renewable energy sources with a focus on integrating thermal heat storage into the district heating grid. The paper is based on a case in the municipality of Silkeborg, Denmark, which has the largest solar thermal panel plant in Northern Europe. A theoretical approach was used to compare with assumed excess power from wind and solar in the DK1 area, with Silkeborg's allocated excess power at 0.01%. This yielded overall efficiencies between η = 0.739–0.765 and η = 0.864–0.895 for the Silkeborg solar thermal plant. Four different thermal heat storage solutions were compared: tank thermal energy storage, pit energy storage, aquifer thermal energy storage and borehole energy storage (BTES). The analysis showed that, of the four solutions compared, BTES was the best for storing thermal energy for a longer period of time, with the lowest heat loss rate of 0.6% and the highest efficiency of up to 89.5%. However, some complications make it difficult to establish a BTES storage solution, since it is very much dependent on earth conditions and initial capital.